Masking an entire layer

In this exercise, I'm going to show you a few different ways to clip an entire…layer to a single path outline and it turns out to be pretty darn easy once you…learn how it works but it's also a little weird, as you'll see.…I have gone ahead and save my progress so far as Ready to mask.ai and I'll tell…you what I would like you to do. Just to simplify things, let's go ahead and…twirl the Vectors layer closed for now and turn it off, so that we can focus our…attention on the Backdrop layer. You should also unlock the Backdrop layer by…clicking on its lock icon to make it go away.…

All right, then I'm going to twirl the Backdrop layer open. Then notice all the…objects in the Backdrop layer extend outside of the artboard. They just end up…ending wherever they end willy-nilly throughout the illustration and that might…be okay. If you plan on just printing the artboard and you want a full bleed,…then you would want some extra room here so that the artwork can bleed beyond…the edges of the trimmed pages.…

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Released

7/9/2009

Knowing the fundamentals of drawing and reshaping paths is only part of the story. In Illustrator CS4 One-on-One: Advanced, the second of the popular One-on-One series, computer graphics expert Deke McClelland covers some of Illustrator's most powerful and least understood features. He shows how to merge simple shapes to create complex ones with the Pathfinder palette, as well as align paths to create schematic illustrations. Deke explains how to paint fluid, multicolor fills with blends, and the new and improved gradient tool. He explores seamlessly repeating tile patterns, blobs and brushes, and imported images. He also dives into one of the deepest features in all of Illustrator, transparency. Exercise files accompany the tutorial.